Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  “Master Linley.” Emperor Johann was the first to walk forward and greet him warmly.

  Linley nodded slightly, his face still rather white. “Emperor Johann, I’ve gained some insights as a result of this duel. I need to go back and train.”

  Emperor Johann was startled, but then he hurriedly said, “Alright, alright. Master Linley’s training takes priority.”

  Linley smiled politely, then headed towards his own people. Wharton, Delia and the others immediately went forward to welcome him, and Wharton immediately gave Linley a bearhug.

  “Big bro.” Wharton’s eyes were red, but he managed to laugh.

  “Let’s go. Let’s go home.” Linley said as he glanced at Delia. Delia’s beautiful eyelashes were wet. When she had seen Linley in danger just then, Delia had cried from worry.

  Linley felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

  “Let’s all go together.” Linley laughed as he looked at Delia, who looked back at him and nodded slightly.

  Linley’s group immediately left. The countless bystanders all quite conscientiously parted, giving them a path out. Virtually everyone was staring at Linley with a worshipful look in their eyes. A twenty seven year old youngster could actually fight with Haydson, the reputedly strongest Saint in the continent, on such a level. And what’s more, he even had two Saint-level magical beasts, one of which was so powerful that it could suppress Haydson.

  “Elder brother…” Blumer looked towards his older brother, Olivier.

  Olivier was publicly hailed as a prodigy, but three months ago, he had been defeated by the Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson. Nobody blamed him for losing; after all, his opponent had been Haydson. Everyone in the Yulan continent still felt Olivier was an absolute genius.

  However…

  Linley was younger than him, much younger!

  But the result of Linley’s duel with Haydson was clearly different. Even Haydson himself had said that if it weren’t for the fact that Linley’s battle-qi was insufficient, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat Linley.

  Victory thanks to superior battle-qi?

  In the eyes of many experts, that couldn’t even be considered a victory. This was because the understanding of the Elemental Laws was far more difficult than cultivating battle-qi. As long as one had sufficient time, one’s battle-qi could definitely be increased.

  “Second brother, I plan to go train in the Arctic Icecap. Take care of yourself.” Olivier said calmly towards his younger brother.

  “Elder brother!” Blumer stared at him, his eyes wide.

  He had heard his older brother speak of the Arctic Icecap in the past. The Planar Overseer was there, along with some Saints who had hidden themselves there to train in those wild, desolate, lifeless lands.

  Olivier turned his head to glance at his younger brother. “Second brother, remember. You are the younger brother of Olivier. Don’t disappoint me.”

  “Right.” Blumer nodded solemnly.

  Olivier smiled, and then flew into the air, streaking towards the north. His robes fluttering in the wind, and carrying those two longswords on his back, Olivier disappeared off into the horizon, heading towards the Arctic Icecap.

  “Haydson, Linley…when I return, I will definitely defeat both of you!”

  Olivier stared towards the north, his eyes filled with newfound resolve.

  Under the direction of the army, the millions of spectators quickly dispersed in every direction. Even as they left, they all felt extremely excited and jubilant, forming small groups as they discussed today’s battle.

  One sword split the mountain. Another sword tunneled through it.

  A thousand meter high mountain that had an area of several square miles had been turned into a giant pile of rubble.

  And then, those two magical beasts had appeared.

  All of these events had caused the spectators to feel uncontrollable excitement. After this duel, everyone was filled with awe towards Linley. A twenty seven year old who was able to fight so well against Haydson, and had two such incredible magical beast companions! By the looks of it, one of the magical beasts was capable of beating Haydson.

  If he fought together alongside his two magical beasts, who in the Yulan continent would dare stand against them?

  “It is fortunate that I had chosen Wharton. Thankfully, our ancestor, the War God, guided me.” Emperor Johann let out a long sigh. “I didn’t realize that Linley was this formidable. Fortunately, he’s become in-laws with our imperial clan.”

  After this battle at Mt. Tujiao west of the imperial capital, the millions of spectators began to spread the news with astonishing speed. Soon, Linley’s fame resounded throughout the world, becoming one of the most famous names in the entire Yulan continent!

  He was able to fight the most powerful Saint, Haydson, to a standstill!

  Only twenty seven years old!

  An Arch Magus of the ninth rank!

  And a grandmaster sculptor!

  And what’s more, he was in control of two terrifying Saint-level magical beasts, one of which was capable of defeating Haydson.

  This seemed like something out of a legend. Whether as a sculptor, as a magus, or as a warrior, Linley had reached a legendary level. It was as though multiple legends had taken form.

  Without question, he was an unequaled genius.

  Linley’s name and fame as a Saint quickly spread across the entire Yulan continent, much like how the War God’s had in the distant past. With some gossipers further exaggerating these legendary events, countless youths began to set Linley as their goal and began to train all the harder!

  Linley was guaranteed to leave behind a thick stroke in the history books of the Yulan continent.

  What’s more…Linley’s glory had just begun. He was only twenty seven years old. His future prospects were unlimited!

  The news of Linley’s duel with Haydson quickly reached the intelligence networks of the Radiant Church, and arrived at the Sacred Isle via flying magical beast couriers.

  The waves crashed against the Sacred Isle. Located in the sea, it was extremely peaceful, and within it there was the powerful force of the Radiant Church.

  On the ninth floor of the Radiant Temple.

  The Holy Emperor, Heidens, was quietly flipping through the treasured holy scripture of the Radiant Church. Suddenly, two rapping sounds could be clearly heard on his door.

  “Come in.” Heidens voice was as steady as always.

  Guillermo, dressed in a long red robe, hurried in. He stared at the Holy Emperor, Heidens, and said in a serious voice, “Your Holiness, word has come regarding Linley’s duel with Haydson.”

  Heidens raised his head to glance at Guillermo.

  The look on Guillermo’s face aroused Heiden’s suspicions. He accepted the piece of paper from Guillermo and casually flipped through it. As he did, his previously calm expression froze.

  “Your Holiness?” Guillermo said in a quiet voice.

  Heidens sighed softly, then tossed the parchment onto his desk. Rising to his feet, he walked to the nearby window. Staring at the distant, boundless sea, he said, “Linley…I knew that you are a genius, but I didn’t expect that in ten short years, you could have grown so much.”

  Long ago, Heidens had predicted that Linley would become very accomplished. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent six Angels to kill Linley.

  But who would’ve imagined that soon after those six Angels failed, Linley would cause such a huge stir. First, he fought Olivier to a standstill, which had already shocked the Radiant Church. But this time…

  “Your Holiness, what should we do?” Guillermo asked in a low voice. “Currently, Linley is already roughly on par with Haydson.”

  “Haydson…”

  Heidens continued staring outside the window, his back to Guillermo. “Haydson is indeed quite strong. If I wanted to defeat him, I’d have to expend quite a bit of effort.”

  Although Haydson was reputed to be the strongest Saint, there had been many
people who had never competed against him. Aside from those experts who had been quietly training for many years, there was the Holy Emperor, the Dark Patriarch, and a number of other experts who didn’t care about fame.

  Oracular Magic was one of the three types of High Magic, after all.

  A peak-stage Saint-level practitioner of Oracular Magic was extremely powerful, far more so than an ordinary peak-stage Saint-level Grand Magus. Heidens was confident that if he were to go all out, he would be able to defeat Haydson.

  That was only if he went all out. What’s more, the intelligence network had reputed that Linley also had two terrifying magical beast companions, one of whom even Haydson apparently couldn’t do anything to.

  “Linley has those two Saint-level magical beasts. If I and Osenno were to both attack, most likely at most we would only be able to force Linley to flee. To kill Linley…we would need to have all the experts of the Church come!” Heidens said in a low voice.

  To defeat and to kill were two totally different concepts.

  That combination of Linley and two magical beasts was simply too terrifying. Even the Radiant Church needed all of its most powerful experts working together in order to be confident of killing him.

  “But even if we succeeded, the Radiant Church will suffer heavy losses. And the imperial capital is the territory of the War God…” A gold light flashed in Heiden’s eyes.

  Heidens’ heart was filled with anger!

  “Bam!” The glass window in front of him transformed into glass shards.

  “We previously could have killed Linley, but we didn’t go full force against him. But now, we no longer have a chance.” Heidens looked towards Guillermo, then announced helplessly, “The price of killing Linley is simply too high. We can’t afford to pay it. And what’s more, we wouldn’t necessarily succeed…from today onwards, no longer act against Linley. If we don’t make trouble for him…I refuse to believe he would dare come and attack the Sacred Isle.”

  At this point, this was the only option left to the Radiant Church.

  “Yes, Your Holiness.” Guillermo laughed bitterly in his heart.

  Guillermo couldn’t help but think back to the first time he had met Linley, when he had been in a hotel within the Ernst Institute. At that time, Linley was just a hopeful future prospect.

  Only ten years had passed!

  That youngster had already become one of the most powerful people in the Yulan continent, and the Radiant Church could no longer do anything about him.

  Heidens was frowning.

  His heart was filled with hatred!

  Did the Church truly lack the power to deal with Linley? No! It had the power! In addition to its high level experts such as the Holy Emperor and the Praetor, the Radiant Church actually had a number of even more terrifying people in their ranks.

  These people had all been training for thousands of years, some even longer.

  However…

  These people no longer served the Radiant Church.

  “These traitors have all forsaken the Lord and only care about themselves!” Heidens’ heart was filled with anger. Those people were all extremely powerful, but none of them cared about the ‘Radiant Sovereign’ any longer, nor did they care about religion or worship.

  This group of people had once been the pride of the Radiant Church.

  They even included past Holy Emperors. But now, most likely they wouldn’t even care if the Radiant Church were to be totally obliterated. The goal of these people was to become Deities!

  To enter the Deity realm!

  “Your Holiness?” Guillermo saw that Heidens was daydreaming and quietly called out to him.

  Heidens let out a long sigh, then looked at Guillermo. He instructed, “Right, Guillermo, that Dylin of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts dealt us a severe setback. Many followers perished…we must quickly establish ourselves in the Anarchic Lands. We must let the radiant glory of the Lord illuminate that place.”

  Guillermo immediately nodded.

  The more followers the Lord had, the greater the gifts the Lord would bestow. The 48 Anarchic Duchies were like a piece of juicy meat which the Radiant Church had set its eyes on for a long time now. They had already been engaged in turmoil and strife for thousands of years. The Radiant Church and the Cult of Shadows both wanted to subjugate that area, but neither had been successful in their struggles to do so.

  The Anarchic Lands bordered both the O’Brien Empire and the Rohault Empire, as well as the great plains to the far east which were ruled over by the ruthless steppe horsemen…

  To tame the Anarchic Lands was extremely hard.

  “You can go now.” Heidens said calmly.

  When Guillermo left, Heidens felt a certain sourness in his heart. “The Cult of Shadows. The Anarchic Lands. And Linley, who will be a great danger in the future…”

  He knew that Linley would be a threat, but what could he do?

  Book 9, His Fame Shakes the World – Chapter 35, Target: Anarchic Lands!

  The gentle wind blew softly against Linley’s hair as he sat quietly in the meditative posture on the ground, his eyes shut. His soul had become one with the earth and one with the wind.

  “Rumble…” Linley could sense the heat of the scorching hot magma in the depths of the earth.

  “Swish…” Linley could sense the changes in the speed of the wind. In the upper atmosphere, the wind was very strong, but the wind within the imperial capital’s manors was much weaker. Linley could clearly sense all the changes of the wind.

  Linley enjoyed the sensation of training. Each time he gained a new insight and each time he made a breakthrough, he felt his spirit be uplifted and be transformed!

  This was a very emotional event which made his heart tremble each time.

  “The War God’s words were perhaps accurate. It is good to focus one’s attention on a single path of training. The Laws of the Earth are vast and boundless, while the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ should be a fairly deep, profound subset of those laws.” Linley could sense this.

  Although he and Haydson both studied the Laws of the Earth, they had taken different routes.

  His own vibrational attacks were clearly on a higher level than Haydson’s!

  “Thruuum.” “Thruuuum.” The unique rhythm and tempo of the earth totally absorbed Linley’s attention. Linley once more allowed himself to be totally submerged into it as he worked hard to understand the profound secrets hidden within it.

  Ever since that battle with Haydson, Linley had become publicly acknowledged as one of the most powerful experts people knew about in the Yulan continent. He was already someone who was spoken of as being on the level of Haydson, the Holy Emperor, and the Dark Patriarch. In the imperial capital of Channe, the status of the Baruch clan had become even more extraordinary as well.

  Clearly, although he had become famous, no one dared to come disturb Linley any more.

  “With each new insight, I have a different sensation.” Linley opened his eyes, a smile coming unbidden to his face. Linley sighed with amazement to himself, “Even the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ contains such immeasurably deep and abstruse secrets. How vast and boundless are the Laws of the Earth, then?”

  No wonder it was so hard to become a Deity.

  And even an incredible person such as the War God remained at the Demigod level despite five thousand years having passed.

  “Big bro!” Wharton and the Barker brothers ran over.

  “I knew you were coming.” Linley laughed and stood up. When he had been in tune with the earth, Linley had sensed Wharton and the others walk over.

  After everyone finished lunch.

  “Zassler.” Linley rose to his feet and smiled as he gestured at Zassler. He brought Zassler into his own courtyard, and the two sat down facing each other.

  “Lord Linley, is there something you need?” Zassler asked questioningly.

  A complicated expression was on Linley’s face. He sighed, “Zassler, yo
u know much about the affairs of my Baruch clan.” Zassler had been here at the estate for a long time now. Naturally, he had learned everything there was to know. Zassler immediately nodded.

  Linley said calmly, “My parents are both dead now, and the primary culprit is the Radiant Church. In the past, when I left the city of Hess, I swore an oath that one day, I would eradicate the Radiant Church and pull it out by its roots.”

  Zassler knew of this goal of Linley’s.

  Linley looked at Zassler. “I know that right now, my power is increasing steadily. What’s more, with Bebe, Haeru, and the Barker brothers…I have confidence in my ability to deal with the Radiant Church. I am preparing to start acting against the Radiant Church!”

  “You are starting?” Zassler was startled.

  Linley was planning to openly act against the Radiant Church?

  “Linley, although it is true that our power is now quite formidable, the roots of the Radiant Church are very deep as well…” Zassler hurriedly tried to dissuade him. Although he, too, wished to destroy the Radiant Church, they had to be wise about it.

  Linley smiled and waved his hand. “No, I’m not going to fight them head on yet.”

  “Last time, I heard you talking about the Anarchic Lands. Didn’t you say the Radiant Church highly values that area? And that there is a lot of power there?” Linley asked.

  Zassler was over eight hundred years old, and he had spent many years living in the Anarchic Lands.

  “Of course they value it!”

  Zassler explained in detail, “Linley, based on my understanding of the Radiant Church, aside from sacrificing pure souls to the Radiant Sovereign, the Radiant Sovereign also needs sufficient worshippers! The more worshippers they have, the more faith is generated. The Radiant Church always prattles on about ‘spreading the Lord’s light across the entire world’, precisely because of this goal.”

  Linley nodded slightly.

  Zassler clicked his fingernails together. “Linley, in the entire continent, the most chaotic areas are the great plains of the far east, the Anarchic Lands, and the Eighteen Northern Duchies!”